Lecture 3

Lecture 3 focused on the way technology has evolved and the way that teachers in the 21st Century need to be prepared and know about the technologies available in order to assist students in their learning. Teachers need to change their teaching pedagogy and centre the learning around the students.

The text book we are using for this unit, "Meaningful Learning with Technology", also suggests that teachers need to centre the learning around the student and focus on meaningful learning by using technologies. As explained in the text book "When teachers offer students opportunities for inquiry, they create the potential for rich, meaningful learning experiences. Technology can provide the means for active, authentic learning through investigation both in the classroom and in the field" (Howland et al. 2012, 21).

In the lecture Jenni also talked about social networking sites which related to Task 1 because an element of this task involves researching three social networking sites to find the most appropriate one to use to create a social space for a particular event or activity.

After the lecture I had a better understanding of how technology can be used in an educational setting to assist with meaningful learning by using technology tools such as Skype, Blog sites, Web sites, Google Docs and Podcasting.

Reference:

Howland, J. L., Jonassen, D., & Marra, R. M . 2012. Meaningful Learning with Technology. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.